Playing-cards.



S. B. MILLER.

PLAYING CARDVS. APPLICATION FILED )AN- 4. 1916. Patented 2 sums-shin l.

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PLAYING CARDS.

APPLICATION FILED 1AN.4.19I6.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

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SHREWSBURY B. MILLER, 0F FAIRMON T, WEST VIRGINIA.

PLAYING-CARDS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 31, 1918.

Application led January 4, 1916. Serial No. 70,153.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, SHREWSBURY B. MIL- LER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Fairmont, in the county of Marion and State of West Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Playing-Cards, of which the following is a speelication, reference being had therein t0 the accompanying drawing.

This invention relates to an improvement in a card game known as house tennis, the object being to provide a card game that simulates the outdoor game 0f tennis by means of a special pack of cards which are played according to the rules of lawn tennis, by which all of the possibilities, chances and science of the game of tennis can be realized by the participants in the card game through the imaginary stroke of the racket in the actual game, whereby the stroke may be scored as won or lost and the game continued to the finish.

Another object of my invention is to provi de a card game in which the pack ofcards employed, composed of a hundred cards divided into ten variations, each variation indicating the result of a Stroke and how it may be played according to the rules of the game.

Another object of my invention is to provide a set of playing cards by the use of which, the game of lawn tennis can be taught, as in playing the same, each player makes an imaginary stroke with the racket so as to serve or return a service ball, and can be played by two or four persons as singles or doubles in tennis.

Other and further objects and advantages of the invention will be hereinafter set forth and the novel features thereof defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings- Figures 1 to 10, indicate plan views of the various forms of cards used to complete the pack of one hundred cards.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a pack of cards, one hundred in number, composed of ten cards designated ywith the words Out of bounds ten cards designated with the words Let ball ten cards designated with the words Netted ball four cards designated with the words Foot fault four cards designated with the words Struck by ball, ten cards desig-J In playing the game, with two or four,1

persons, so as to simulate singles or doubles in tennis, and when playing singles, three cards are dealt to each player, which forms a hand, and the remainder of the pack is placed, face down, to be drawn from alternately by the players after making a play,

thus each hand constantly holds three cards,

which is the same in playing doubles, and in making a stroke or playing a card, the cards are played on a separate pile, face up, and should the cards in thedrawing pack be exhausted by the players before the set is finished, the pack of discarded cards is shuiiled again and placed, face down, as before for a drawing pack, and the game continues until the six or more games are played so that the opponents have either won or lost the set.

The entire pack of cards is shuiiied and redealt for each new set, and the method of keeping the score is the same as in lawn tennis, and it is not thought necessary to set forth the rules of the game, although the usual rules covering lawn tennis can be followed and I wish to reserve the right to incorporate in .connection with this game, the rules so as to instruct the players.

In playing doubles, the partners are arranged on the same side of the table as in the game of lawn tennis, the players or the partners are both on the same side of the net and the opponent, diagonally opposite the server must return the ball, but if impossible to play without the loss of'the point, the partner may play, but in lplaying doubles, the card designated Ball served is not valid for a return stroke by the opponent of the server. The service remains to the side during the entire game but alternates between the partners vafter each point of the game is Won or lost and when the game is completed, the opposite side or opponents from the original server, starts the serving, the service alternating vbetween the sides after each game is played.

The game is begun by the player having the first serve, and to put the ball in play, a good or valid play must be made by playing a card designated Ball served 7 or a card designated Service ace, and in the former, the opponents must return the play by -playing a valid return card, or a winning card and in case they cannot play a valid card, the point is lost.

The player having Athe service, is given a chance to `play two cards corresponding to the service of two balls in the actual game of lawn tennis and assuming that the server has sent the ball over the net by playing the card designated Ball served,7 the opponent, may do either one of the following things: irst,he may return the ball by the proper card; second, he may win the point by playing the proper card; or third, he may lose lthe point by having to play a card that neither returns the ball nor wins the point, this depending yupon the cards which he holds inhis hand, so that it will be seen that the possibilities, chances and science of a real lawn tennis game are realized by fthev participants in the card game.

The science of the game is realized by the player discarding from his hand in making a play, the cards of the least value, the cards of the greater value to be retained by the player for a future play.

After the ball has been placed in imagination, in play, it is sent back and forth over the net by the players in making the plays until one or the other of the players par-ticipating in the game, has won or lost a point, and this is continued until the game is either won or lost. p

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided a pack of playing cards designated with the various' plays of a game of tennis, so that the 4participants arranged upon the opposite sides of a table, alternately play a card which either wins, returns, or loses the play; thereby making it Apossible that the game of lawn tennis canu be very closely simulated as the players can make rallies and a love game can be won, or a deuce game played'` In Fig. l, I have shown a card constructed as will be actually used having a diagram of a tennis court and a pair of crossed rackets at each end thereof with a centralball and it is, of course, understood that each of the cards will be constructed in this manner.

While I have shown and descri-bed` la pack of cards constructed in a particular manner, I do not wish to limit myself to the use of any design on the face of the cards composing the pack or to the duplica-te printing at each end thereof of the printed matter designating the-character of the play or the printed matter designating the instructions to the'player, as a pack of cards could be constructed with simply printed mattei' thereon Vdesignatingthe character of the play with the instructions` or a pack of cards could be constructed simply having printed matter thereon designating the character of the play and the knowledge of the game by the player, would be sufficient to instruct him how to play the game, and I do not wish to limit myself to the particular arrangement of the printed -matter and the design employed on the face o-f the cards.

I claim: I

l. A deck of cards for use in playing a card game of lawn tennis, comprising a series of sets of cards, each card of each set being provided with matter designating the character of play and the result of said play.

2. A deck of cards for use in playing a card game of lawn tennis, composed of a plurality of sets, each card of each set having matter designating the different strokes of the players and the results of said strokes.

3. A deck of cards, for use in playing a card game of lawn tennis, composed of a plurality of suits and a plurality of like cards in each suit, one of said suits having matter thereon representing the dierent strokes of the players, and another of said Y mary designation of a play in the game, and

a secondary designation of how it may be playedl according to the rules of the game.

6. A deck of cards for useV in playing aV card game of lawn tennis, composed of ten sets of cards, each card' of each set being provided with matter designating the character of the play and the result of the play as a primary designation, and how it may be played according to the rules of the game as a secondary designation.

7. A card game, comprising a deck of cards divided into a number of sets of cards,

composed of a set of out of bounds cards, a set of let ball cards, a set of netted ball cards, a set of foot fault cards, a set of struck by ball cards, a set of place- -ment shot cards, a set of service ace cards, a set of killed at net cards, a set of Vball served cards, and a set of ball returned cards. 8. A deck of cards for use in playing card game of lawn tennis, including a plurality of suits and a plurality of like cards in each suit, each card of each suit having matteiindicating the result of the stroke and how it may be played according to the rules of the gaine.

9. A Card game, comprising a deck of one hundred cards divided into ten Sets of Cards, composed of a set of ten out of bound7 cards, a set of ten let ball cards, a Set of ten netted ball cards, a set of four foot fault cards, a set of four struck by ball7 cards, a set of ten placementshot cards,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the a set of six service ace cards, a'set of six killed at net cards, a set of twenty five ball served cards, and a set of ball rel5 turned cards, each card having the result of the play.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my Signature in the presence oi tWo Witnesses.

SHREWSBURY B. MILLER.

Witnesses:

HARVEY A. REED, WILBUR S. MAYERS.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

